“We went to the Kornidzor Bridge and reached the Shushi district checkpoint, where the border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh is. Many police officers were standing there, representatives of both Armenia and Artsakh police. It was clear that the Russian peacekeepers would soon approach because there was an Azerbaijani base there. In other words, in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, there is an Azerbaijani base, bases that you can see with the naked eye, and this is part of our main road, the Artsakh highway, which is not allowed to pass, it is dangerous. We do not have the right to move freely in our homeland. I can state that,” said Aram Sargsyan, member of the Coordinating Council of the “Together” movement, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia, in a conversation with Aravot.am.
As we have already informed you, this morning, the members of the movement’s Coordinating Council went to Tegh and Kornidzor settlements in the Syunik region, where the enemy made an advance, invading the sovereign territory of RA. Remember that the new road connecting Armenia and Artsakh has already been commissioned. 11.8 km of the 33.8-kilometer road is in the region of the Republic of Armenia; it starts from the section of the Tegh village of the M-12 (Goris-Tegh-Berdzor-Stepanakert) interstate road, passes through the village of Kornidzor and ends near the state border, which passes through the Hagari River. The new bridge built over the river is a border junction. The “Together” movement members went that way and reached the checkpoint where a barrier was placed. They were welcomed and accompanied by the deputy head of the regional police department and the police chief of Goris. “They very politely told us that they are obliged to ensure our safety, so they asked us not to go forward because it is hazardous.”
Aram Sargsyan detailed in the conversation that it was impossible to see the heads of the Tegh and Kornidzor communities and talk with them. Municipal halls were closed. The movement members assume that after learning about their visit, the leaders of the communities preferred to “disappear.” And the accompanying police officers did not answer their questions, arguing that it was beyond their authority. “We were told that they will invite the representatives of the NSS border guard troops. They called and invited them, and after waiting for 15 minutes, they called and said they were on a tight schedule; they were busy with cartography and border demarcation work, but they were ready to clarify all our questions with a corresponding statement shortly,” explained Aram Sargsyan.
“And here, as it is known, specific problems arose during the taking over of direct protection of the border, which was reported by the National Security Service, emphasizing that readings of maps appeared during the deployment of both sides. According to our assessment of the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani side had positioned itself in some places. It carried out engineering works 100-300 meters before the border in Armenia.
Read also
After that, it was agreed that cartographers from both sides would correct the situation. During this period, work was carried out to adjust the points of deployment of the border guards. The condition improved to a certain extent. In particular, the deployment points in 7 kilometers out of 12 kilometers have been clarified, and the works on 5 kilometers are continuing,” Nikol Pashinyan said at the government session, without explaining whether the Azerbaijanis who invaded the sovereign territory of RA have returned to their starting positions or not. On this occasion, Aram Sargsyan remarked.
“I don’t understand what is being improved when the Azerbaijanis have carried out engineering works and the plots owned by our villagers are under their control. That allows us to say that the Armenian side conceded everything. Even now, the absurdity is that they are delimiting, not demarcating, in these conditions.
Delimitation should have been done during the negotiation process and demarcation after its completion, and the so-called cartography is just a mockery. There should not be a demarcation either because the enemy keeps Artsakh closed, or you are negotiating to draw a border? Who has seen such a thing? Or how do you take down our army units from their occupied positions and take the border guard troops instead when the enemy is doing the opposite”?
Nelly GRIGORYAN
